tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8627322010786735293.post5746015331070819334..comments2018-02-21T07:40:49.653+01:00Comments on Antipodes: Bird storiesWilliam Skyvingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10052367756561555096noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8627322010786735293.post-22761800002238113182010-02-14T19:19:54.768+01:002010-02-14T19:19:54.768+01:00My husband would whistle a very distinctive melody...My husband would whistle a very distinctive melody when he turned into the lane that lead to our house. Our dog would sit by the door every evening, waiting for that whistle as the signal to start tunning towards his master.<br /><br />One day, hours before my husband was supposed to be home, our dog started to bark, wanting to be let out the door. Turned out that a blackbird had learned to imitate that certain whistle, confusing both me and the dog.Merisihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16781937797213521146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8627322010786735293.post-77557332820618822652010-02-14T16:39:53.311+01:002010-02-14T16:39:53.311+01:00In that case, they&#39;re amazing. I&#39;m trying ...In that case, they&#39;re amazing. I&#39;m trying to imagine the cerebral and vocal processes that would enable a bird to memorize and then reproduce specific audio signals. Maybe their brain exploits massively the so-called <i><b>mirror neurons</b></i> that have become the specialty of my friend <b>Michael Arbib</b> at the University of Southern California. In that case, a lyre bird might well be using the same genes that enable a human child to master language. But what sort of vocal chords must it have in order to produce the noise of a chainsaw, which is far more sophisticated than a simple whistle? I guess I&#39;m asking a variant of the question: <i>How and why do kookaburras laugh?</i>William Skyvingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10052367756561555096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8627322010786735293.post-89403349316456781592010-02-14T14:56:17.436+01:002010-02-14T14:56:17.436+01:00Williams I can give you an absolute assurance that...Williams I can give you an absolute assurance that the mimicked sounds are indeed authentic.Maaliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13444125754967223180noreply@blogger.com